Lundi Gras
Shrove Monday • Fat Monday • Presidents’ Day
The Christmas Eve of Mardi Gras
About Lundi Gras
If Mardi Gras is the main event, then Lundi Gras is the glowing threshold. Think of it as Carnival Eve. It’s a day that feels like a secret, as if you’ve found the exact rhythm of the season just before it goes completely wild. There’s music in the streets, the smell of smoke and sugar in the air, and parades rolling with just enough space between them to let you catch your breath. It’s one of the best-kept secrets of Mardi Gras; for some, especially families, Lundi Gras might be better than the day itself. Blasphemy, I know. The energy today is full-tilt but somehow still restrained. It’s a day of anticipation. You don’t sleep much, and you don’t want to. There are parties, brass bands, barbecues in yards and parking lots. If you’re not in New Orleans (or Mobile, or Rio, or any place where Carnival is a civic religion), you bring the vibe with you: call in, cook big, play loud music, and let the spirit of Lundi Gras possess your Monday.
Ways to observe
(A) Low effort
Wear something festive to breakfast. Play New Orleans jazz while making coffee.
(B) Recommended
Throw a Lundi Gras backyard party: BBQ, music, beads, and bold fashion choices. Invite friends. Remind them it’s the day before the day, and therefore the perfect day to show up.
(C) High effort
Celebrate like you’re in New Orleans: host a mini parade, do a costume swap, set up multiple food stations, and serve king cake with a “President’s Baby” hidden inside. Whoever finds it must recite a toast in character as their favorite (or least favorite) president.
Inspiration
While Mardi Gras has centuries of history behind it, Lundi Gras as an official event is a relatively recent invention. In 1987, the city of New Orleans formalized the day before Mardi Gras as its own celebration, complete with a royal welcome, fireworks, parades, and community gatherings. It gave space for smaller parades, musical showcases, and festivities that didn’t have to compete with the scale of Fat Tuesday. Since then, it has taken on a life of its own.
My own approach to Lundi Gras is equal parts celebration and restraint. I go hard throughout the day—parades, music, food—but I keep a reasonable bedtime in mind, because tomorrow starts early if I want a good spot for Zulu. It follows the same logic as Christmas Eve: too much revelry the night before can make the big day feel like a steep climb.
Adornments
Watch
The Order of Myths (2008)
Director Margaret Brown “gracefully explores Mobile’s Mardi Gras celebrations” while unmasking a surprising legacy of segregation and “separate mystic societies” for Black and white revelers.
Always for Pleasure (1978)
Always for Pleasure showcases everything from jazz funerals and second-line parades to Mardi Gras day revelry and even a backyard crawfish boil. The film brings to life the joyous spirit, music, and communal indulgence that make up New Orleans’ Mardi Gras season.
Easy Rider (1969)
An iconic counterculture road film whose finale crashes the Mardi Gras party. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper’s bikers roll into New Orleans just in time for Carnival mayhem.
Read
New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith
During a glittering Mardi Gras parade, the city’s reigning King of Carnival is assassinated on his float by a costumed figure—sending rookie policewoman Skip Langdon (a former debutante herself) into the highest echelons of New Orleans society to investigate.
Eat
Red Beans and Rice—Lundi Gras Style
Historically, Monday was washday, so a pot of beans would cook hands-free while laundry was done. Over generations, it became the Monday meal. Lundi Gras is no exception.